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National patient experience survey: Results for patients treated in May 2017

27 Jul 2017

Individual district health board results compared with New Zealand average

Individual DHB survey results are displayed using interactive Tableau charts. If they do not display correctly or you have trouble reading the results, please contact Ying Li. If this is your first time using Tableau, please read the instructions below before proceeding.


Using the interactive charts (below) to read patient experience survey results

  • Use the drop-down box on the homepage below to access a list of DHBs.
  • Select your DHB, keeping New Zealand as the second option – do not use the drop-down box to compare DHBs.
  • Use the tabs along the top to navigate through each domain.
  • Return to the homepage to select a different DHB to compare against the New Zealand average.
  • Results can be downloaded as a PDF by using the 'download' button on the bottom right of each page.

Key findings

  • National results for the four domains (communication, partnership, coordination, and physical and emotional needs) have remained broadly consistent across all 12 survey rounds.
  • There was little variation between district health boards (DHBs).
  • The national response rate decreased to around 24 percent compared with 28 percent previously.
  • We have undertaken weighting, as before, in line with the methodology and procedure document.

National results

National scores for all four domains have remained consistent since quarter 2, 2015. The national score for Partnership has increased in quarter 2, 2017 (see Figure 1). 

Figure 1: National average scores for the four domains

The ‘physical and emotional needs’ domain rated the highest in all survey rounds. It includes the ‘humanitarian’ questions shown in Figure 2, which continuously scored the highest.

The three questions shown in Figure 3, continuously scored the lowest, indicating there is room for improvement.

Figure 2: Highest-rating questions of the four domains

Figure 3: Lowest-rating questions of the four domains

Table 1: Score of four domains by DHB

Response rates

The national response rate has decreased to around 24 percent from 28 percent in last quarter.

Figure 4 shows the breakdown of response rates by distribution method. Response rates for surveys invited via email and SMS have stabilised at 30 and 14 percent, respectively, after some early fluctuations. Response rates for surveys invited via post decreased from around 40 percent to 30%. Although in past quarters it was the highest among all distribution methods, this quarter it was the same as email. Postal surveys have a high processing cost, so we encourage DHBs to undertake surveys via email or SMS where possible.

Figure 4: Response rates by survey distribution type

Response rates per DHB varied from 8 percent to 37 percent (see Table 1). Five DHBs achieved a 30 percent response rate or above in the current survey round.

DHBs are required to have at least 30 responses for results to be meaningful. West coast DHB, Hauora Tairāwhiti and South Canterbury DHB didn’t meet this requirement. (See also Appendix 1 for per-DHB scores for each of the four domains.)

Table 2: Response rates by DHB (%)

Representation of respondents

Nationally, respondents were reasonably representative of all ages and gender.

The under-representation of people aged 15-24 and 25-44 continued, as did that for Maori, Pacific and Asian origin. Tables 2–4 give a demographic breakdown of respondents.

Table 3: Representativeness by demographic group


Published: 27 Jul 2017 Modified: 12 Apr 2023